This Flight Simulator 2004 aircraft was produced with Abacus FS Design Studio 3.5.1, FS Panel Studio 2004, and Paint Shop Pro X.
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Installation FS2004:
-Extract the contents of the main zip file XC105.zip into FS2004's Aircraft folder. This should create a structure something like the following:
- c:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9
--- Aircraft
----- Boeing XC-105
-------- model
-------- panel
-------- sound
-------- texture.1943
-------- texture.1944
-Once these files are extracted, Flight Simulator 2004 should exhibit a new entry under Aircraft/Select Aircraft on the menu bar:
--Boeing / XC-105 with two variations: Camouflage Olive Drab / Gray, and Camouflage Multi-color.
Installation FSX:
-Extract the contents of the main zip file XC105.zip into FSX SimObjects / Airplanes folder.
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Flying the XC-105:
See the kneeboard checklist for manual engine starting procedures. You can start the engines with the Magneto/starter switches in the Virtual Cockpit, or on the 2D electrical panel.
As the XB-15, the plane originally had 850 hp Twin Wasp R-1830-11 engines, rated 1000hp for takeoff. I assume that by time the plane was converted to the XC-105 in 1943, the engines would have been uprated to something like the 1200hp R-1830-33. Maximum manifold pressure is 48 inches at 2700 RPM, for ONE MINUTE. Maximum continuous (climb) is 42 inches at 2550 RPM.
For very long-range flights, use 31 inches manifold pressure at 2050 RPM. Fuel consumption need to be about 250 pounds per hour per engine, to get 3200 mile range.
For assistance with the Sperry Autopilot, see the Microsoft Flight Simulator Learning Center, Index (letter D), Douglas DC-3, Flight Notes, Using the Autopilot.
Use the Exit command (Shift-E) to open and close the exterior doors. Use Shift-E, then number 2 (above letter keys) for interior doors.
The virtual cockpit may be better viewed if you hit the minus (-) key once or twice, to get back to a 75% or 50% zoom.
FS9 Virtual Cockpit How To:
-Move from pilot to copilot seat --- Ctrl-Shift-Enter to move right
-Move from copilot to pilot seat --- Ctrl-Shift-Backspace to move left
-See the flight deck --- Ctrl-Enter to move aft
-Return to pilot area --- Ctrl-Backspace to move forward
-Move vertically --- Shift-Enter to move up, Shift-Backspace to move down
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Known issues:
-Fictional features.
-- Relatively little documentation exists on XB-15, and less on the XC-105. Much of interior is made up. Flight deck layout is roughly correct, based on one available photograph.
-- Hypothetical interior details are mostly based on either Boeing Model 299 (or Y1B-17), or Boeing 314.
-- Cargo area, wing tunnel, bunk/galley area, and passenger area are all hypothetical.
-- Flight instruments are purely hypothetical.
-- Engine horsepower is assumed to have increased over XB-15, but that is not documented.
-- Camouflage scheme of olive drab over gray appears to be supported in two b/w photos.
-- Multi-color camouflage scheme is hypothetical, but did belong to other transports of 20th TCS, 6th Air Force, such as C-47s. White undersides applied to cargo planes were a response to hostile fire received from U-boats en route.
-Sound. To save space, this model comes with a sound.cfg file that points to a default sound package, the DC-3.
Authorship:
The visual model is completely original. The textures are original. Most of the gauges are modified from XML gauges supplied in FS2004, with original artwork.
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Special Thanks:
Pedro Paulo Rezende, for commissioning XB-15 model and providing research and guidance.
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Background:
The Boeing XB-15 was a response to Army Air Corps request for a long-range bomber. Boeing Model 294 was designed in 1934, and the Army designation of the plane was XBLR-1 (Experimental Bomber, Long Range).
Only one example was built. In July 1936 the Army changed the designation to XB-15. The airplane first flew in October 1937, two years after the B-17's first flight.
The airplane was supposed to carry 4000 pounds of bombs for 5000 miles at 200 miles per hour. The original design called for Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engines of 1000 hp each, but these were unavailable.
The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial was substituted, rated at only 850 hp. The XB-15 could not quite reach a maximum speed of 200 mph, and actually cruised at 152 mph.
It had a huge wing, thick enough for the flight engineer to visit the engines in flight and make minor adjustments. The wing was copied almost exactly in the later Boeing 314 Clipper flying boats.
With expected flight durations more than 24 hours, the XB-15 had provisions for a relief crew, with bunks and a galley.
The XB-15 was assigned to the 49th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, at Langley Field, Virginia in 1938. It had natural metal finish and was given aircraft number 89. In 1939 and 1940 it was photographed in two-tone experimental camouflage, a water-based paint which deteriorated rapidly.
In 1939 the XB-15 carried medical supplies from the Red Cross to earthquake victims in Chile, covering 4933 miles in 49 hours (29 hours flying time).
The XB-15 was determined to be obsolete as a bomber design, but it was a functional airplane, and performed patrol missions in the first years of WWII. Despite being underpowered, the XB-15 had significant load-carrying ability and set a payload-to-height record (31,205 pounds to 8200 feet) in 1939.
In May 1943 the XB-15 was converted to a cargo carrier and re-designated XC-105. A cargo door and hoist were added. Maximum gross weight is reported to have been increased to 92,000 pounds.
It was assigned to the 20th Troop Carrier Squadron, Sixth Air Force in Panama, and was based at Albrook Field north of Balboa. Over the next several months, the XC-105 made 70 flights and carried 440,000 pounds of cargo, 94,000 pounds of mail, and 5200 passengers.
The XC-105 was nicknamed "Old Grandpappy" and was reportedly a "grumpy" flier, which caught fire twice in the air. It suffered structural damage and was placed in storage at the Panama Air Depot in May 1944, and finally retired from service in December 1944
The XB-15/XC-105's career ended in 1945. One report says it was scrapped at Kelly Field, Texas. Another says it was pushed into a swamp in Panama and abandoned.
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References:
Peter M. Bowers, 'Boeing Aircraft Since 1916', Aero Publishers Inc., 1966
Peter M. Bowers, 'Fortress in the Sky', Sentry Books, 1976
Michael O'Leary, 'A Selection of Classic American Aircraft', Air Classics Magazine Vol. 41, Number 5, June 2005.
Jack McKillop, 'Boeing 294 XB-15', http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/McKillop/5384.htm, May 2006
Joe Baugher, 'Boeing XBLR-1/XB-15/XC-105', http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b15.html, July 1999
Leo Kohn, 'Boeing XB-15 Super Flying Fortress', WWII Journal 15, 'US Warplanes vol. 1', http://books.google.com search "U.S. Warplanes of World War II"
Stan Cohen, 'Wings to the Orient', Pictorial Histories Publishing 1998
Edward Jablonski,'Sea Wings', Doubleday, 1972
http://www.boeingimages.com, search for XB-15
Dana Bell, 'Air Force Colors Vol.2', Squadron/Signal Publications, 1980
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This model is freeware.
All comments and suggestions welcome.
E-mail: george_diemer@msn.com
